By Kate Di Guglielmo, Staff Writer
SELF-IMAGE: You are beautiful no matter what society’s standards tell you.
Accepting the look of one’s body is a constant struggle for many teenagers and even adults. With the demanding beauty standards that are set for both women and men in today’s society, it is hard to live up to these high expectations. Many people will go into extremes and develop an accidental eating disorder while trying to get “healthy” and fit these foul standards. However, this begs the question: what is the ideal body image? There’s no such thing as the “perfect body,” as everyone’s body has different ways of distributing fat and gaining muscle. There are so many different body types in the world that it is simply ridiculous to hold everyone to the same cookie-cutter standards.
Many influencers on Tik Tok are recognizing these beauty standards and starting a movement to reverse them. A relatively new “Tik Toker” named Sienna Gomez is well-known for doing body positive dances and encouraging eating healthy. Gomez gives her followers tips to boost their confidence, telling them not to care “if people like [them] or like what [they’re]doing, as long as [they’re]happy with [themselves].” Not caring about what other people think is a key step in growing your confidence and starting your journey to recovery. Just by dancing, Gomez has given so many people confidence in themselves and their bodies. She’s even taught others to pretend that no one is watching and to just be their authentic selves. Another body-positive influencer, Katie Sigmond, posts about her struggles with and recovery from her eating disorder. She also comforts her followers when they come to her with concerns about their bodies and eating habits. She explains that it’s ok not to live up to society’s impossible beauty standards. Sigmond states, “Nobody is built the same,” and that is ok.
These influencers demonstrate how people’s bodies don’t always have to live up to a set standard. The reality of this situation is that many people trying to achieve the “perfect body” aren’t going to, and they don’t have to. Everyone has different genetics, leading to their bodies looking different than others’. The core of these influencers’ message is that everybody is different, but everybody is beautiful. Hopefully one day, no one will devalue themselves, thinking that they’re worthless unless they look like a model.